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Here, we describe the identification of an antibiotic class acting via LpxH, a clinically unexploited target in lipopolysaccharide synthesis. The lipopolysaccharide synthesis pathway is essential in most Gram-negative bacteria and there is no analogous pathway in humans. Based on a series of phenotypic screens, we identified a hit targeting this pathway that had activity on efflux-defective strains of Escherichia coli. We recognized common structural elements between this hit and a previously published inhibitor, also with activity against efflux-deficient bacteria. With the help of X-ray structures, this information was used to design inhibitors with activity on efflux-proficient, wild-type strains. Optimization of properties such as solubility, metabolic stability and serum protein binding resulted in compounds having potent in vivo efficacy against bloodstream infections caused by the critical Gram-negative pathogens E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Other favorable properties of the series include a lack of pre-existing resistance in clinical isolates, and no loss of activity against strains expressing extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase, metallo-beta-lactamase, or carbapenemase-resistance genes. Further development of this class of antibiotics could make an important contribution to the ongoing struggle against antibiotic resistance.

New antibacterial compounds are urgently needed, especially for infections caused by the top-priority Gram-negative bacteria that are increasingly difficult to treat. Lipid A is a key component of the Gram-negative outer membrane and the LpxH enzyme plays an important role in its biosynthesis, making it a promising antibacterial target. Inspired by previously reported ortho-N-methyl-sulfonamidobenzamide-based LpxH inhibitors, novel benzamide substitutions were explored in this work to assess their in vitro activity. Our findings reveal that maintaining wild-type antibacterial activity necessitates removal of the N-methyl group when shifting the ortho-N-methyl-sulfonamide to the meta-position. This discovery led to the synthesis of meta-sulfonamidobenzamide analogs with potent antibacterial activity and enzyme inhibition. Moreover, we demonstrate that modifying the benzamide scaffold can alter blocking of the cardiac voltage-gated potassium ion channel hERG. Furthermore, two LpxH-bound X-ray structures show how the enzyme-ligand interactions of the meta-sulfonamidobenzamide analogs differ from those of the previously reported ortho analogs. Overall, our study has identified meta-sulfonamidobenzamide derivatives as promising LpxH inhibitors with the potential for optimization in future antibacterial hit-to-lead programs.

Because tuberculosis is still a major health threat worldwide, identification of new drug targets is urgently needed. In this study, we considered type B ribose -5 -phosphate isomerase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a potential target, and addressed known problems of previous inhibitors in terms of their sensitivity to hydrolysis catalyzed by phosphatase enzymes, which impaired their potential use as drugs. To this end, we synthesized six novel phosphomimetic compounds designed to be hydrolytically stable analogs of the substrate ribose 5 -phosphate and the best known inhibitor 5-phospho-D-ribonate. The phosphate function was replaced by phosphonomethyl, sulfate, sulfonomethyl, or malonate groups. Inhibition was evaluated on type A and type B ribose -5phosphate isomerases, and stability towards hydrolysis using alkaline phosphatase and veal serum was assessed. One of the phosphomimetic analogs, 5-deoxy-5-phosphonomethyl-D-ribonate, emerged as the first strong and specific inhibitor of the M. tuberculosis enzyme that is resistant to hydrolysis.

The ever-increasing number of bacteria resistant to the currently available antibacterial agents is a great medical problem today, and new antibiotics with novel mechanisms of action are urgently needed. Among the validated antibacterial drug targets against which new classes of antibiotics might be directed is bacterial type I signal peptidase (SPase I), an essential part of the Tat and Sec secretory systems. SPase I is responsible for the hydrolysis of the N-terminal signal peptides from proteins secreted across the cytoplasmic membrane and plays a key role in bacterial viability and virulence. This review focuses on the antibacterial activity of natural and synthetic SPase I inhibitors reported to date, namely beta-lactams, lipopeptides, and arylomycins, but also an example of SPase I activator was presented.

Type II NADH dehydrogenase (NDH-2) is an essential component of electron transfer in many microbial pathogens but has remained largely unexplored as a potential drug target. Previously, quinolinyl pyrimidines were shown to inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis NDH-2, as well as the growth of the bacteria [Shirude, P. S.; ACS Med. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 736−740]. Here, we synthesized a number of novel quinolinyl pyrimidines and investigated their properties. In terms of inhibition of the NDH-2 enzymes from M. tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis, the best compounds were of similar potency to previously reported inhibitors of the same class (half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values in the low-μM range). However, a number of the compounds had much better activity against Gram-negative pathogens, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) as low as 2 μg/mL. Multivariate analyses (partial least-squares (PLS) and principle component analysis (PCA)) showed that overall ligand charge was one of the most important factors in determining antibacterial activity, with patterns that varied depending on the particular bacterial species. In some cases (e.g., mycobacteria), there was a clear correlation between the IC50 values and the observed MICs, while in other instances, no such correlation was evident. When tested against a panel of protozoan parasites, the compounds failed to show activity that was not linked to cytotoxicity. Further, a strong correlation between hydrophobicity (estimated as clog P) and cytotoxicity was revealed; more hydrophobic analogues were more cytotoxic. By contrast, antibacterial MIC values and cytotoxicity were not well correlated, suggesting that the quinolinyl pyrimidines can be optimized further as antimicrobial agents.

Oligopeptide boronates with a lipophilic tail are known to inhibit the type I signal peptidase in E. coli, which is a promising drug target for developing novel antibiotics. Antibacterial activity depends on these oligopeptides having a cationic modification to increase their permeation. Unfortunately, this modification is associated with cytotoxicity, motivating the need for novel approaches. The sulfonimidamide functionality has recently gained much interest in drug design and discovery, as a means of introducing chirality and an imine-handle, thus allowing for the incorporation of additional substituents. This in turn can tune the chemical and biological properties, which are here explored. We show that introducing the sulfonimidamide between the lipophilic tail and the peptide in a series of signal peptidase inhibitors resulted in antibacterial activity, while the sulfonamide isostere and previously known non-cationic analogs were inactive. Additionally, we show that replacing the sulfonamide with a sulfonimidamide resulted in decreased cytotoxicity, and similar results were seen by adding a cationic sidechain to the sulfonimidamide motif. This is the first report of incorporation of the sulfonimidamide functional group into bioactive peptides, more specifically into antibacterial oligopeptides, and evaluation of its biological effects.

Type I signal peptidase, with its vital role in bacterial viability, is a promising but underexploited antibacterial drug target. In the light of steadily increasing rates of antimicrobial resistance, we have developed novel macrocyclic lipopeptides, linking P2 and P1' by a boronic ester warhead, capable of inhibiting Escherichia coli type I signal peptidase (EcLepB) and exhibiting good antibacterial activity. Structural modifications of the macrocyclic ring, the peptide sequence and the lipophilic tail led us to 14 novel macrocyclic boronic esters. It could be shown that macrocyclization is well tolerated in terms of EcLepB inhibition and antibacterial activity. Among the synthesized macrocycles, potent enzyme inhibitors in the low nanomolar range (e.g. compound 42f, EcLepB IC₅₀ = 29 nM) were identified also showing good antimicrobial activity (e.g. compound 42b, E. coli WT MIC = 16 μg/mL). The unique macrocyclic boronic esters described here were based on previously published linear lipopeptidic EcLepB inhibitors in an attempt to address cytotoxicity and hemolysis. We show herein that structural changes to the macrocyclic ring influence both the cytotoxicity and hemolytic activity suggesting that the P2 to P1' linker provide means for optimizing off-target effects. However, for the present set of compounds we were not able to separate the antibacterial activity and cytotoxic effect.

Type I signal peptidases are potential targets for the development of new antibacterial agents. Here we report finding potent inhibitors of E. coli type I signal peptidase (LepB), by optimizing a previously reported hit compound, decanoyl-PTANA-CHO, through modifications at the N- and C-termini. Good improvements of inhibitory potency were obtained, with IC50s in the low nanomolar range. The best inhibitors also showed good antimicrobial activity, with MICs in the low μg/mL range for several bacterial species. The selection of resistant mutants provided strong support for LepB as the target of these compounds. The cytotoxicity and hemolytic profiles of these compounds are not optimal but the finding that minor structural changes cause the large effects on these properties suggests that there is potential for optimization in future studies.

There is an urgent need to discover new anti-tubercular agents with novel mechanisms of action in order to tackle the scourge of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Here, we report the identification of such a molecule - an AminoPYrimidine-Sulfonamide (APYS1) that has potent, bactericidal activity against M. tuberculosis. Mutations in APYS1-resistant M. tuberculosis mapped exclusively to wag31, a gene that encodes a scaffolding protein thought to orchestrate cell elongation. Recombineering confirmed that a Gln201Arg mutation in Wag31 was sufficient to cause resistance to APYS1, however, neither overexpression nor conditional depletion of wag31 impacted M. tuberculosis susceptibility to this compound. In contrast, expression of the wildtype allele of wag31 in APYS1-resistant M. tuberculosis was dominant and restored susceptibility to APYS1 to wildtype levels. Time-lapse imaging and scanning electron microscopy revealed that APYS1 caused gross malformation of the old pole of M. tuberculosis, with eventual lysis. These effects resembled the morphological changes observed following transcriptional silencing of wag31 in M. tuberculosis. These data show that Wag31 is likely not the direct target of APYS1, but the striking phenotypic similarity between APYS1 exposure and genetic depletion of Wag31 in M. tuberculosis suggests that APYS1 might indirectly affect Wag31 through an as yet unknown mechanism.

Potato epoxide hydrolase 1 exhibits rich enantio- and regioselectivity in the hydrolysis of a broadrange of substrates. The enzyme can be engineered to increase the yield of optically pureproducts, as a result of changes in both enantio- and regioselectivity. It is thus highly attractive inbiocatalysis, particularly for the generation of enantiopure fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals.The present work aims to establish the principles underlying the activity and selectivity of theenzyme through a combined computational, structural, and kinetic study, using the substratetrans-stilbene oxide as a model system. Extensive empirical valence bond simulations have beenperformed on the wild-type enzyme together with several experimentally characterized mutants.We are able to computationally reproduce the differences in activities between differentstereoisomers of the substrate, and the effects of mutations in several active-site residues. Inaddition, our results indicate the involvement of a previously neglected residue, H104, which iselectrostatically linked to the general base, H300. We find that this residue, which is highlyconserved in epoxide hydrolases and related hydrolytic enzymes, needs to be in its protonatedform in order to provide charge balance in an otherwise negatively-charged active site. Our datashow that unless the active-site charge balance is correctly treated in simulations, it is notpossible to generate a physically meaningful model for the enzyme that can accurately reproduceactivity and selectivity trends. We also expand our understanding of other catalytic residues,demonstrating in particular the role of a non-canonical residue, E35, as a “backup-base” in theabsence of H300. Our results provide a detailed view of the main factors driving catalysis andregioselectivity in this enzyme, and identify targets for subsequent enzyme design efforts.